


Where's Your Heart

by phylavell



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Birds of Prey (Comic), DCU (Comics), Under the Red Hood
Genre: F/M, Gen, Platonic Female/Male Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-04
Updated: 2015-06-04
Packaged: 2018-04-02 20:00:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4072669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phylavell/pseuds/phylavell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With the help of Oracle, Jason Todd kills the Joker.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where's Your Heart

**Author's Note:**

> I was listening to Angel With A Shotgun by the Cab and the line "I don't care if heaven wont take me back" is what you can blame for this.
> 
> I'm very worried about characterization in this. I'm more or less content with everyone but idk. If anything is wonky then please do let me know!! Also yeah I wanted the ending okay.
> 
> Per usual, no beta. So comments are absolute love, thank you in advance.

He walks out of the warehouse with a smug grin on his face. The gun at his side is still steaming from it’s tip and the scent is almost sweet. Everything is going to plan. He knows that within a matter of days he should have his encounter with Bru- the Batman. He even opts to take a longer path than usual. He stops near his old home. He supposes he could live more than two lifetimes and never really forget the sight of his mother in the house. What he does vaguely remember is what he was like as a child. He doesn’t go in the abandoned house out of fear that a ghost from his past will emerge but he does his best to remember the house plan. His mother and father had slept in the living room of the small house and they had let him take the bedroom. After his father had died, his mother moved into the bedroom with it. He didn’t mind. 

As he passes the house completely he stops at the rooftop he’s on to get a final look of the building. With a small sigh he lets his mind drift to killing Batman and the Joker before turning to meet a steel pipe with his helmet. It slams him backwards and in the few seconds it takes for him to recover the person already has him on the ground. He fights nearly blindly, thrashing around but he feels a pinch at his neck and groans.

When he comes to he finds himself in a room with a large computer in one corner. A complete patch of darkness covers a majority of the computer and where a person should sit to use the computer. 

“What the hell is going on?” he asks to no one in particular.

“You’re awake,” comes a distorted voice he pinpoints as from the patch of darkness. 

“Who are you?” he asks, thrashing against the restraints that kept him tied to a chair.

“Oracle,” the voice replies.

“Oh, so you’re the famous Oracle. Thought you more of a mask type, actually,” he says casually.

“The real question is, who are you? Why are you terrorizing Gotham?” Oracle speaks in a distorted monotone voice.

“I’m the fucking Red Hood and I’m making this place what the Batman could never,” he says honestly. The bunch of worthless men he took out in the warehouse? A great favour to Gotham.

“Hm,” Oracle remains silent for a few moments before speaking again, “I’m afraid that’s not enough. In the time you’ve been active I haven’t been able to get a proper view of you and that isn’t going to be tolerated while I’m active. If you will.”

He opens his mouth to speak again when he feels a set of cold thin hands perch themselves around his neck. He fights against the restraints again but to no avail. He hears two small clicks and his helmet is removed from his head. He looks down immediately before the same hands raise his head upwards.

A gasp is heard and a woman in a wheelchair rolls out from the darkness. He knows who she is. 

“Barbara…” he says with a tone of complete surprise.

She stares at him in silence. He wears a red domino mask beneath his helmet, but he knows that she knows who he is. She remembers him.

“Jason…” her hand flies to cover her mouth, “You died.”

“Thanks for the reminder,” he says with a frown, “Now if you want to let me go and let me carry out my plans? That would be great.”

She shakes her head, “No. Have you told Bruce?”

Jason laughs wholeheartedly, “I already did! And you know what! He didn’t show any sign of remorse or anything!”

She frowns, “We know that was Clayface.”

“It really wasn’t! It was me for the majority of it. When Talia let me go, I had to see him. I found a way to do it. I wanted him to miss me, I wanted him to be sorry for not killing the Joker and nothing,” he stares at the ground with a forced smile.

“So that’s why you’re in Gotham. You want to kill Bruce. The Joker?” Barbara rolls forward towards him.

Jason says nothing. He gives a small laugh and shakes his head, “You really think I’m going to tell you?”

“Yes,” she says confidently, “because I can make or break you. Nothing happens in Gotham without me knowing. And if you so much touch a hair on Bruce, or Dick, or even Tim’s head again. You will have hell to pay.”

“So much anger from such an ill-positioned person. I’d be more afraid of Batgirl,” Jason spits.

“I can arrange a meeting,” Barbara threatens, “She’s not one to be messed with.”

Jason rolls his eyes, “Now what, then? You’re gonna keep me here until I promise to behave?”

She shakes her head and leans forward to move the white strand of hair from his face, “Not until you tell me what happened.”

Jason stares at her curiously before shaking his head again, “Well see, I got back, and I met up with Hush. He wanted to know what-”

“I’m not talking about that and you know it,” Barbara gives him a a glare.

“Well, then I guess we’re going to be here for a while cause I have no idea what you want, Babs.”

Barbara continues giving him the glare before shifting positions and rolling back into her position in front of the computer. He can vaguely see her outline if he squints. She speaks in the Oracle voice again.

“Dinah,” she’s not speaking to him. Another set of hands come and clamp something down against his ears and blindfold him. He nearly goes into hysterics. He feels like the room got smaller and like he’s going to suffocate. He starts screaming and within a few moments time something is shoved in his mouth.

He doesn’t know how long he’s making noises against the rag in his mouth and how long he’s been fighting the restraints. He’s been crying and there is a horrible clenching feeling in his chest and he’s about ready to try and suffocate himself when the blindfold is slipped off his eyes. The room gets bigger but the feeling doesn’t go away. He watches Barbara remove the thing around his ears.

“Are you ready to tell me?” she asks softly. He makes angry noises against the rag. She frowns and moves to cover his ears again but he relents. She removes the rag from his mouth and he pants for a few moments before coughing and clearing his throat.

“If I get free from this chair, I am going to fucking kill you,” he threatens as his eyes narrow in her direction.

“I have no doubt. That’s why you’re restrained so well. Now,” she rolls forward, “you were going to say?”

“I don’t know what you want,” Jason lies.

Barbara rolls her eyes, “I want you to talk to me, Jason. Bruce doesn’t know you’re here,” Jason’s eyes widen in surprise at the news. He had expected that to be the first thing Barbara did. She continues, “and I know you’re angry at everything that’s happened. I understand that, I really do. But I need you to talk to me.”

Jason stares down at the ground for an entire minute before speaking again, “He let me die.”

“He may have not been able to get to you in time but rest assured your ghost haunts him every night and day.”

“Don’t fucking lie to me,” Jason looks up at her with anger in his eyes, “he replaced me.”

She shakes her head, “Tim came to him. Literally, Tim knows who you were. Tim played a really good game of detective and figured out that Bruce Wayne was Batman.”

Jason frowns, “And he found Grayson at the circus and me stealing his tires.”

Barbara shakes her head again, “Let me finish. He went after Bruce because Batman had become reckless. Batman had begun showing a fury that Gotham had never seen. Batman was broken, lost. And all because…”

“Of me…” Jason considers Barbara’s words before looking up at the ceiling. He stares at it as if it were the most important thing in the world.

“You were important, Jason. You still are. Bruce loved you. You need to remember that. Give him a chance and you’ll see that he still does,” Barbara moves forward and places a hand on his knee.

He looks to the side and shuts his eyes before looking back at her again. His eyes are reddening at the sides, “He did nothing to avenge my death!”

“And he did nothing to avenge me, either!” Barbara yells back at him with the same rage, “But you know what I did, Jason? I got the fuck over it because you know what, Bruce doesn’t owe me shit!”

Jason stares at her with his mouth slightly agape before glaring at her, “You. Didn’t. Die.” 

She rolls completely forward and presses her nose to his as she stares directly into his eyes. He can feel her breath on his upper lip, “If you think that for years after it happened I didn’t want to switch places with you then you are so fucking wrong. I’m better now, sure.. But for so long I wanted to die because I was convinced this was worse than death. I felt useless. I always thought, he got to Jason too, but at least Jason is completely gone!” She growls her final words into his face before rolling slightly away.

Jason watches her breathe and calm herself. He sees her in a way he never had the chance too. He sees a woman, nearly beautiful in every way, who stared the Devil in the eye and managed to escape with life. A lot more than he got done.

“I can do it,” Jason says softly, “I can make it better, Babs.”

“Killing the Joker isn’t going to do anything for me, Jason,” she says in a monotone.

“Knowing that he wont be shooting anyone, or killing anyone? That wont do you any good?” Jason asks unbelievably. Barbara shakes her head.

“And if it had been Grayson?” Jason asks. She stares at him blankly.

“Dick Grayson finds out his mother is alive and searches the world for her, only to be met with the end of a crowbar,” Jason shuts his eyes as he ends the sentence, “don’t tell me you and Bruce wouldn’t have put an end to that freak.”

“Jason. Bruce loved you as much as he does Dick. Don’t you ever say that again,” He feels a warmth in her tone but he doesn’t respond to it.

“I can fix this. For the both of us,” Jason is nearly begging, “I need this, Barbara. You need this too no matter how much you say you don’t. Think back to what you thought when you were on the ground, bleeding out and feeling like you were going to die.”

She says nothing and he continues, “Think back to the first night after you were released from the hospital. You couldn’t do anything. And all because of him. I can make that better. Just let me.”

Her silence sends him into a frenzy, “Look at me, Barbara! I’m not supposed to be here like this. I was supposed to get older along with all of you! I was supposed to be here to become my own man, and watch everything we planted grow! But I couldn’t do that because of **_him_**. He took that from me! He took me away from all of you…” his voice cracks by the end of his rant.

Barbara stares at him with a sad expression for a few moments. She sees the boy she bought a hot dog for all those years ago. She shuts her eyes for a moment before turning and rolling away to her spot in front of the computer.

“Barbara!” Jason yells, a single stream of tears rolling down his left eye. He opens his mouth to speak more when he sees her roll back. She wipes her eye and positions herself directly in front of him.

“I’m not going to let you kill the Joker. I don’t approve of it whatsoever,” she takes a small earpiece and leans forward to clip it against his ear, “I also don’t want to lose track of you,” she takes a deep breath before continuing, “and if you happen to overhear any conversations regarding the Joker and his location, and of certain things delaying Batman and Robin, then well, I don’t really know what to tell you.”

His eyes widen as she leans back and once again moves to her position in front of the computer. His heart races and his mind goes blank.

“Dinah, please?” he hears Oracle say again. He feels something connect with the back of his head and everything goes black.

He wakes up beside a dumpster that was near his old home. The entire conversation with Barbara rang in his head while he made is way back to his safehouse. She was as stubborn as Bruce when it came to their sense of high morality but he knew that she had the same exact motives that he did to want the Joker dead. He wasn’t going to fail either of them.

And so he waited. The earpiece was silent night and day for a month before he picked up anything. He had spent that whole month training and he was ready for anything. He sits in the corner of an empty living room in silence as he listens in on the conversation.

“New lead on the Joker says he’s been spotted dealing near the docks,” Barbara says along with a rhythmic clicking.

“Thank you, Oracle,” It’s Bruce, “Any word on the dealings?”

“Explosives,” she replies as the clicking stops, “be careful.”

“Always,” Bruce's voice rings through Jason's ear.

“And so it begins,” Jason says to the wall opposite him.

 

He times the arrival of Batman and Robin and watches them investigate the scene from a rooftop. Not much has changed since his days, he notes. When the dynamic duo leaves the area, Jason slips his helmet on and descends on his own. He approaches a man who had casually moved to another side of the building as soon as Batman and Robin arrived.

The man leans against the wall and takes deep drags from a cigarette.

“Mind if I bum one off you?” Jason asks as he approaches the man. The man turns to face Jason before attempting to run off. Jason catches the hood of the man’s sweater.

“Tsk tsk. I expected better. You’re not dealing with some cheap knockoff. You’re dealing with Joker and you think this is gonna slide?” Jason asks with faux amusement in his tone.

“We did everything he asked!” the man yells, “Sent everything overseas just like he asked!”

“Overseas? Joker’s going underground?” Jason curses under his breath. He wasn’t supposed to ask that outloud.

“Y-you don’t work for him?” the man’s eyes widen and he attempts to get away with more haste.

“Do I look I work for that freak?” Jason asks before moving forward and slamming the man into the wall, “Now tell me, are there more dealings?”

The man shakes his head, “N-no.”

“I don’t like being lied to,” Jason’s hand rises up the man’s chest to the man’s throat, “and unlike your usual vigilantes I’m not afraid to dispose of the garbage that walks these streets.”

Jason presses harder against the man’s throat and soon enough the man begins gasping for air. The man nods furiously and Jason releases some of the pressure. The man coughs and catches his breath before speaking again.

“T-t-two. There’s two more dealings with us.”

“Where?” 

“Down near crime alley, the old glue factory. That’s one, I wasn’t given the location of the other.”

Jason frowns under his mask but nods before pulling his arm back and punching the man in the jaw. The man falls onto the ground and Jason turns away fleeing towards the nearest fire escape.

He returns to his safe house and the earpiece springs to life again.

“I didn’t think you’d follow up so fast,” Barbara says. She receives no reply and she speaks again, “Jason.”

“I didn’t think this worked two ways,” Jason says honestly.

“Only when I want it to,” she replies, “How’d it go?”

“Another dealing soon. At the old glue factory on Seventh and Albany,” Jason says as he searches for somewhere to write that fact down.

“You know I have to tell Bruce about this,” she says.

“Do whatever you want. At least one of them has to die,” Jason says adamantly.

“Jason,” Barbara says sternly, “you can’t let Bruce know it’s you.”

“And why not? I’ve been dreaming of a chance for some one on one time with him,” Jason stares down at the knife he’s been sharpening.

“Because then he’ll know that you’re out to kill the Joker. And you know he’ll do everything in his power to stop you.”

“No touching the bats, okay. Fine,” Jason frowns as he twirls the blade between his fingers, “The Joker is going underground, Babs. I need to get him now.”

The static noise goes silent and Jason sighs. He’s playing Barbara’s game now. 

 

The next time the earpiece goes live again is when the next deal is occurring and Jason knows exactly where to go. He’s out the door in seconds and finds himself at the building across from the warehouse as he watches the dynamic duo enter the building from the back. It takes everything he has to restrain himself from diving into the action. He grips the side of the ledge and watches as gunshots and smoke emerge from the windows of the building.He lets out a sigh of relief when Harley Quinn comes rushing from the building with a set of henchmen at her side.

He watches her get into the getaway car and has to double take the familiar green tint. The driver. It has to be him. Jason takes a last look at the building before diving off the rooftop and making his way down towards the car that’s stopped and waiting for a henchman that Jason can see carrying a duffel bag. He and the henchman reach the car at the same time and Jason shoves the man out of the way before entering the backseat, both his pistols raised.

“Oh! Would you look at that, Harley! We have a visitor!” the Joker proclaims from behind the wheel. The clown steps on the gas pedal and the car is soon speeding down one of Gotham’s back alleyways.

“I see him, puddin’! What do ya say we do with him?” Harley raises her own pistol.

“What you’re both gonna do is-” Jason’s weight is thrown against the car door and one of his pistols drops to the ground.

“What’s that? You’re going to have to speak up!” the Joker finishes with a laugh that sends Jason into a frenzy. He moves forward and points the barrel of the gun against the clown’s neck. Harley in turn points hers at Jason.

“You put that down right now!” she yells.

“Ah-ah, Harley. Remember how you’re supposed to treat a guest! With complete attention to their safety!” the Joker slams his foot on the break pedal and Jason is flung backwards and his other gun drops onto the ground. 

“Now then,” the clown turns around with that same grin that Jason wants to skin off his face, “how about we start with who the copycat is under that helmet…” the Joker produces his own handgun and points it directly at Jason’s chest.

Jason gasps inaudibly through his helmet and glances down at his guns on the ground. He can’t go like this, he wont let it happen. He’s about to reach forward and try and yank the Joker forward when a gloved fist crashes through the window and yanks the Joker out through the window. Harley follows. Jason sits there for the longest three seconds of his life as he realizes who had followed them.

He clambers out of the car and he sees the Joker on the ground. He looks up and makes eye contact with the Batman. Jason looks back at the car for a split second before realizing that despite this being the absolute perfect time to take them both down, he is in an inopportune situation. He turns to run and has taken two steps when he feels a cord tie itself around his ankles. In a second he produces his knife from his jacket and the cords are cut. He stands and takes off running again and this time no one follows. He’s out of breath and halfway to his safe house when he feels a pipe connect with the back of his head.

The pipe had struck where it needed to. His eyes flutter open and he’s once again tied up in Oracle’s domain.

“What the hell were you doing?!” Barbara rolls up to him.

“I was going to take care of that insect before he went underground!” Jason yells. The meeting is fresh in his mind and he wants nothing more than to hunt the two down.

“Bruce was there! What did I tell you about acting when Batman can see you!” Barbara yells. Jason’s never seen her this angry before.

“He didn’t know it was me,” Jason argues.

“And if he managed to get the helmet off?” She gestures to her lap. His helmet is there.

“Then our agreement would have gone to shit and I would have killed him too,” Jason’s eyes narrow in competition with hers.

Barbara frowns and moves back to her spot in front of the computer. She has him blindfolded deafened, and gagged again. He’s not sure how long the panic lasts. He feels a cold sweat drip down his forehead when the everything is removed again.

“I am going to fucking kill you,” Jason is seething. He counts his breaths in an attempt to stabilize himself.

Barbara frowns again, “And destroy your one resource?”

“I don’t need you,” Jason spits, “I don’t need you and your all seeing eyes. I don’t need any of it!”

Barbara’s frown remains intact, “You’re right. What you need is some fucking therapy.”

Jason rolls his eyes before looking down at the ground, “What I need is to get my hands on that clown and make him pay for everything he did to us!”

Her frown fades into a thin line. She knows there’s no real reasoning with him. Not like this. She rolls forward, a look of sympathy overtaking her features, “hey, you’re alive, okay?”

He responds to her words and his head jerks up before he gives a slight nod. She continues, “You’re here, and I’m here and we’re proof that there is life after the Joker. That alone is doing more than he could ever hope to do in his miserable life.”

“It’s not enough,” Jason looks her in the eyes before looking down at the ground, “it’s not enough. I need to know he wont hurt anyone like this ever again…”

She reaches over and places a hand on his knee, “I understand that.”

“It was cold,” he says abruptly. She watches him curiously. 

He doesn’t look up from the ground, “that’s the first thing that I felt. An ice cold shiver through my entire body and then my eyes opened and it was dark. I was alone.”

He peers up at her through loose strands of hair. Her expression is unreadable. She’s listening. He continues, “I didn’t know what was happening. I panicked then. I remembered the crowbar, my mom, and- Bruce. I needed him so bad.”

Jason takes a breath before continuing, “And- and then there’s a blur. I think I was still in Gotham. Doing what, I’m not exactly sure. And then Talia and the Lazarus pit. There’s nothing like that. It was hot. A fire rushing through you, burning everything from your skin to your soul. It was like dying and coming back to life all over again. Things get blurry, and sometimes I see him. He’s there with the crowbar again. I don’t know what’s real and what isn’t sometimes.”

Barbara reaches out to move strands of hair out of his eyes, “This is real. You’re here. You and I- this is something that only you and I can understand. I’m real, Jason.” Barbara leans up to kiss his forehead and moves to hold his face in her hands. His expression is nervous and he refuses to meet her eyes. She sees the boy she met all those years ago that just wanted Bruce’s approval. She lets his head go and leans forward and unties his arms from the chair.

“I know you feel like you didn’t have anything then, and that you don’t have anything now, but I’m telling you now that you’re wrong. You have me.” She sits back and waits. Her own hands are in position to reach for her escrima sticks should she need them, but he quickly proves her wrong. 

He wraps his arms around himself as if to protect himself from a cold breeze and nods, “Thank you.”

“You’re one of us, Jason. You were raised a bat and a bat will you always be,” she finishes with a small smile that he doesn’t reciprocate. 

He holds his wrists for a few moments before looking up at her again, “Can I go now?”

She nods and he leans down to untie the restraints at his ankles. He stands in front of her before leaning down slightly. Her hands immediately take a half defensive position but she relaxes when he presses his forehead against hers and shuts his eyes.

“I’m going to make this right, Babs. For the both of us,” He speaks with a conviction she’s only ever heard from Bruce. He backs away quickly and stands by the chair.

“Exit through this wall,” she gestures to her left as he takes his helmet from her, “then it’s nothing but rights. That’ll leave you at the backdoor.”

He nods and within a few minutes he’s back in the busy rustling city streets. The Red Hood makes his way up several buildings before finally finding his way back to his safe house. When he arrives he takes a long shower and decides to use the bedroom for the first time since he arrived. He makes his way over to the bed while finishing toweling through his hair. His eyes are heavy and only manages to put his earpiece back on before collapsing onto the bed. He’s nearly out by the time his head hits the pillow.

The soft buzz of static brings him back into consciousness. He makes a content humming noise as he rolls over onto his back and listens to Barbara feed Bruce any news on the Joker. Jason knew he had hope. There was one more meeting. He could get it done. He had to get it done.

“Word is that the last deal is going to be somewhere in downtown Gotham,” Barbara says against the sound of computer clicks. Bruce tells her to keep him posted and a third voice, Barbara had said his name was Tim, thanks her.

Jason’s eyes flutter open and he finds himself in the brightly lit bedroom of his safe house. He feels an odd relaxed sensation that he doesn’t remember ever feeling in this second lifetime. He sits up on the bed and stretches before stepping off to find his cigarettes for his morning smoke. When he does find them he opens the backdoor and sits on the small set of steps in nothing but boxer shorts, smoking away. He stares down at his arms and legs. They carry scars even the Lazarus pit couldn’t heal.

When he’s put out the cigarette he continues his day like all the previous ones. And he waits.

 

The final call comes to him when he’s mid-training. Barbara comes through the earpiece.

“Bruce! Joker’s been spotted heading towards downtown. It seems like he, Harley Quinn and some goons are headed to three different locations.”

Jason’s out the door before she had finished speaking.

“Black Canary has apprehended Quinn but needs backup,” Barbara clicks away as she speaks.

“On my way,” that’s Tim.

“Bruce, Huntress has the Joker’s goons. They’re coming at her hard. She needs you,” Barbara says.

“Keep eyes on the Joker’s location. I’m turning the Batmobile around.”

Jason is running across rooftop after rooftop at top speed. After a while he comes to a stop and catches his breath as he watches the Batmobile speed by. Barbara is giving Bruce updates on the Joker’s location nearly every second, allowing Jason to zone in on the clown’s exact location.

The Joker and a set of henchmen are huddled near the back entrance of a building. Alone. Jason would scream if he weren’t putting his attention on getting down the side of the opposite building fast enough. Jason rounds the corner into the alley where the back entrance is as the Joker steps into the building. The henchmen come at him but Jason has them unconscious in seconds. As Jason steps into the doorway he nearly collides with an investigating Joker.

Jason smirks under his helmet, “Hi.”

The Joker doesn’t have time to respond as Jason takes him by the tie and shoves him backwards. The clown falls onto his back and Jason looks around. The building is empty save for specific holes in the ground. Jason is tempted to ask what the clown was planning, but quickly realized he didn’t care.

Jason steps forward and gives the clown a set of kicks everywhere he can reach. He grabs at a metal pipe that lies on the ground and brings it down on the clown’s stomach with as much force as Jason can muster. The Joker yells in agony and Jason laughs. He drops the metal pipe for a second as he removes his helmet.

“Getting a little- claustraphobic?” the Joker asks with a painful chuckle.

Jason smiles and shakes his head. He removes the domino mask he wears under his helmet as well. The Joker eyes Jason before the clown’s mouth drops.

“Hey,” the Joker coughs, “I know you! You and I,” another cough, “danced this dance before! Only I was leading the last time.”

Jason whacks the Joker’s grin off his face. The clown groans in pain and Jason brings the pipe down in all the places he remembers being hit. Each collision the pipe makes with the clown’s body sends shivers up Jason’s spine. When his arms begin to feel tired and the clown is nearly unconscious beneath him, he drops the pipe for good. He pulls a dagger from the inside of his jacket and moves towards the Joker’s lower waist.

“There’s something I have in mind to do, but it wouldn’t be right,” Jason confesses, “So I’ll settle for this.” Jason lowers the dagger into the Joker’s lower abdomen in the slowest possible way. The clown’s eyes widen and he screams. Jason nearly shuts his eyes. The blade of the dagger is no longer visible and Jason gives it one final shove inward and hopes he broke all the way through the clown’s back.

“That was for Barbara,” Jason moves back and picks up his domino mask and puts it back on. The Joker, bleeding and all, still manages to get a laugh in.

“And look,” the Joker wheezes, “at you little Robin. All grown up.” another wheeze, “Everything daddy dearest Bats,” the Joker takes a deep breath, “didn’t want you to be!” The Joker laughs and an anger inside Jason impulses him to remove his handgun from its holster.

“Shut up!” Jason yells as he points the gun at the clown’s face. The Joker keeps laughing and Jason clicks off the safety.

“Unwanted Robin!” the Joker is cut off mid laugh as Jason fires an entire clip into the clown’s face. Jason stands in the same position for a few moments as he stares in horror at the pieces of the clown’s face that lie around him. Blood is pooling at the Joker’s shoulders and Jason steps back, careful not to get his shoes wet.

He continues stepping back. It’s not the Red Hood that continues until his back is pressed against the wall. It’s not the mighty Red Hood that covers his mouth in shock at the sight of the body. Fifteen year old Jason Todd slides down the wall with his back against it. Fifteen year old Jason Todd who never got a chance to finish his life. Fifteen year old Jason Todd who wanted nothing but to finally fit into a family. It’s not the Red Hood who shuts his eyes tightly in an attempt to hold back tears. It’s Jason Todd.

He hadn’t noticed that Barbara had stopped taking the second he stepped into the warehouse.

“Barbara! The Joker!” Bruce’s voice comes through his ear in a rush.

“His signal disappeared, Bruce. Give me a second to track any other signals that might have led to him.” Barbara’s voice is different. Jason can tell. 

Through his blurry vision he stands and collects his helmet. He slips it on and runs out the door and up the building. Once on the rooftop he heads towards Oracle’s base. He needs to see her.

He had expected infiltrating the base to be a lot harder. He supposed that her girls were out doing their part in the entire operation. Jason steps through the familiar wall and finds himself standing in front of Barbara’s station. She notices him walk in and hits a few keys before turning her chair around to face him.

He sees the look on her face and the tears that had welled up in his eyes fall. He rushes towards her and she pulls him in for a hug. She holds him and he does nothing but silently shake against her. She says nothing about her wet shoulder. When he finally breaks away from her she wipes her own eyes and he gets down on his knees in front of her.

“It’s over, Babs.” Jason says with the weakest smile.

She gives him a faint smile in return and shakes her head, “Nothing good can come from this.”

“Nothing good? Making sure he never hurts anyone again? That’s not a good thing?” Jason leans forward and leans his head against Barbara’s knees. 

She shakes her head and wipes her eyes again before running a hand through his hair, “Stay. We’ll go get something to eat in a bit. I’ll catch you up on everything you missed.”

Jason gives her a genuine smile, “Okay.”

 

Barbara’s invitation wasn’t without reason. She had managed to convince him that he needed to go make peace with Bruce. He had initially denied wanting any contact with anyone but she wore him down to one chance. Just one. 

So as Jason adjusted the dress shirt Barbara had helped him choose he shifted nervously. He had rung the bell twice already and the door hadn’t been opened. Maybe no one was home. It was a sign that he wasn’t supposed to have any contact with them, he’d have to tell Barbara-

Jason’s train of thought was cut short by the sight of Alfred opening the door and nearly falling backwards. The butler stared at him in shock.

“Hi,” Jason says with a small grin, “You remember me, right?”

Alfred steps forward and gets a better look at Jason before speaking, “I highly doubt anyone could forget you, master Jason.”

A head pops up from behind Alfred who’s eyes also widen in surprise. Dick Grayson lunges from inside the manor and latches himself to Jason. 

“Is it really you?” Dick asks as he lets go.

“Who else would it be, Dick?” Jason finds himself grinning.

A final head appears in the doorway and Jason finds himself staring into the eyes of Bruce Wayne. He notices the change in face immediately. The detective face. Jason frowns, “Hi, Bruce.”

Bruce’s face changes in accordance to the name used. He continues to be suspicious and Jason maintains his frown, “Are you just going to stare at me or are you going to say something you big boob?”

And Bruce’s features soften. Jason knows he’s just said something only he would know. A little quip between father and son. So when Bruce moves forward and offers Jason his open arms, Jason can’t find it in himself to deny his father.


End file.
